happy holiday weekend!!

Friends, I hope you are heading for a fun and fabulous weekend. The hubs and I are heading off for a bit of an early-anniversary mini-break to Holland, MI. I am beyond excited! I am going to hurry off to finish packing...see you next week!

dreamy illustrations

How fantastical are these illustrations?! They caught my eye this afternoon, and I just had to share...I feel like I want to read a children's book filled with pictures just like these. 

book talk: breakfasting with books

This morning before leaving to teach, I breakfasted with books. Eating-while-reading is one of my favorite things, as it combines the two best pastimes. I tried my hand at those strawberry oat bars from yesterday's post, and they were just awesome. A little more like a strawberry crumble than a bar, but still. The "crust" is really, really yummy--the pinch of sea salt really makes it!

I breakfasted with this book:

It has been on my reading list for about a year and a half (the hubs read it and loved it). Today, I cracked the cover. Beryl Markham, "Britain's Amelia Earhart," completely drew me in within the first three pages...her writing voice is frank and well-paced, making for easy (and kind of awed) reading. She masterfully begins detailing her life as a free-lance pilot in Kenya, with evocative descriptions of everything from hacked-out dirt runways to the then-burgeoning city of Nairobi. 

She just seems like the coolest person. I would've loved to take her out for a couple martinis. Very dry martinis. With olives. 

The best thing I discovered at breakfast was this little blurb on the back cover:

"Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West with the Night? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer's log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people's stories, are absolutely true...I wish you would get it and read it because it really is a bloody wonderful book." 

--Ernest Hemingway

Well, if Ernest thinks it's good... 

Meatless Monday--going raw?

Hey friends. Happy Monday!

I am quite excited about my meatless options for this week. I spent Friday evening looking through some new magazines, and my stack of Bon Appetits from 2009--my friend, Jamica, got me a subscription for Christmas one year, and I absolutely loved it! We were so broke at the time, I wasn't able to renew my subscription, so I just keep recycling that year's worth. Each month, I pull out the corresponding issue, and try to find some dishes I haven't tried yet. Nerdy of me, I know.

I also stopped by the farmer's market on Saturday, on my way home from yoga class, and found some yummy-looking ingredients to play with.

I have a ton of sugar snap peas to try this orecchiette dish.

I love the pasta shape orecchiette. Not only is it fun to say, but it translates loosely into "little ears." How cute is that?

Now, here is an interesting thing that I'd love to hear your thoughts about: going raw. In the latest issue of Whole Living, I read the article about raw food. Mind you, I don't know all of the reasoning behind going raw...part of me shrugs and thinks, "ok, I mean, if that's what floats your boat..." Another part of me wonders if there is some magical nutritional benefit. Yet another part of me thinks that we cook food for some good reasons, too, like to kill bacteria. So, I'm gonna try this zucchini "pasta," along with these strawberry oat bars, and see what happens. 

I'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, what do you think of the whole "raw food" thing? 

Friday, I love you

Ah, Friday. A sacred day for many. Today the hubs and I both magically have the day off, and we've spent it gloriously reading, eating eggs and toast, doing laundry and walking to the library. And drinking coffee. Check out this funny (and informative!) video on the subject:



A playful weekend reminder via Anna Garforth:

Pret-A-Voyager is presenting a series featuring all the different androissments of Paris. Don't these photos of the 5th make you just want to hop on a plane?

Oh, man. What scrumptious-looking peaches...and peach-upside-down cake! 

This weekend, I'll be attending a friend's bridal shower, a fun dinner at a new restaurant, and perhaps the hubs and I will check out the hot-air balloon fest. What are you up to this weekend? Whatever it is, I hope it's fun and relaxing!

going organic...with makeup!

Last week, my sister and I finally made good on our Mother's Day present for Mom. We went for a fantastic spa-day at Rouge Make-up and Nail Studio in Ferndale. It was so much fun! While we were there, we got makeovers with this line of cosmetics called Eve Organics. They're based in Macomb, MI. After chatting with Cheryl about my skin type, she used the "Quantum Quencher Renewal" on my. My face felt so silky, I bought myself a bottle! (and felt good about supporting local businesses, too...)

Can I just say, almost a week later, my skin is singing for joy! I never would've said that "organic makeup" would be any different from my trusty Oil of Olay...but my skin thinks different. What do you think about the move to go organic? Even in things like makeup? 

mitten love

check out these awesome Mitten-accoutrements....

Mitten pillow! (spied by brideblu)

Cool, folksy tees (found on amanda jane's blog)